Virus victim? CDC probing N.J. 4-year-old's death

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing whether the death of a 4-year-old in Hamilton Township, N.J., from an unidentified illness might have been caused by enterovirus D68, which has caused severe respiratory illness in children across the country.

The boy, a preschooler at Yardville Elementary, died at home Thursday, Hamilton Township Health Officer Jeff Plunkett said.

Another parent of a preschooler at the Mercer County school told CBS News that the CDC notified her Friday afternoon that her son, who had been hospitalized last week and is recovering at home, also had been ill with the virus.

That parent could not be reached Saturday.

Though it is unknown whether the boy who died had any underlying medical conditions, Plunkett said culture swabs had been sent to the New Jersey Department of Health to test for various strains of flu - and to the CDC to test for enterovirus D68.

"Our medical examiner felt it was prudent to send these samples to the CDC when a cause of death could not be determined locally," Plunkett said.

He said he would be unable to confirm the other child's case until Monday.

The boy's death comes amid a surge of respiratory illness from enterovirus D68 nationwide.

Since mid-August, the CDC has reported almost 300 cases of the respiratory illness in 40 states, including New Jersey and Delaware, as well as in Philadelphia. All but one of the confirmed cases have involved children, according to the CDC.

There have been no documented deaths nationally, but some of the children have needed treatment in intensive-care units.

The CDC said Friday that doctors in Colorado had begun testing whether the virus was responsible for cases of muscle weakness and poliolike paralysis, the Associated Press reported. The nine children affected had fever and respiratory illness before experiencing limb weakness, CDC said.

Enterovirus D68 was first identified in 1962 and has since caused clusters of illnesses.

A rare strain of a common virus, the illness begins with common cold symptoms and leads to severe respiratory difficulties. Children with asthma can be the most seriously affected.

Four children in the Philadelphia area have tested positive for the virus so far this flu season, according to a statement from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia last week.

On Saturday, Joey McCool Ryan, a spokeswoman at Children's, said the hospital would not routinely test for the virus because there is not a specific treatment for it.

"Knowing the virus is enterovirus D68 would not change the way we would treat a child's symptoms," she said.

"We often see an increase in respiratory viruses when the school year begins," she said. "This virus is not new and not considered any more contagious than other similar respiratory viruses."

Because there are no specific medications for the virus, doctors at Children's treat it, like other viruses - "by focusing on the symptoms," she said.

Parents, she said, should monitor children for concerning symptoms - regardless of the cause - including shortness of breath, wheezing, and inability to eat or drink.

In Hamilton Township, Plunkett said that as a preventive measure, the classroom of the child who died had been cleaned and sanitized.

Results from the CDC are expected as soon as Monday, he said.

In the meantime, he said, children should attend school.